I’m a morning person, but even I’ll admit that sometimes it can take a minute or two for me to get going in the early hours. This was not the case one recent May morning in southern Nevada, where heatwave immersed my tent just a few quick minutes after the sun came over the horizon.

The Department of Interior (DOI) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) set a precedent for smart solar energy in a recent decision to approve three large-scale solar projects in the Dry Lake Solar Energy Zone of southern Nevada.

A new multi-state plan for the greater sage-grouse could include conservation measures to protect more than 50 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land that provides critical habitat for the species. Secretary Sally Jewell announced the plan on May 28 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.